Mozambique: State wants slaughter, sale of meat without inspection punishable by law

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Mozambique: State wants slaughter, sale of meat without inspection punishable by law

4:48 CAT | 17 Oct 2022

Screen grab: StrongLive TV

The attorney general of Mozambique has defended the arrest of people who slaughter and transport livestock for human consumption, without the inspection of health authorities, noting that the practice constitutes a threat to public health.

Beatriz Buchili, quoted by daily newspaper Notícias on Friday, said the law provides for up to two years’ imprisonment for such cases, and urged the health, police and judicial authorities to enforce the rule.

“One of the powers that the law assigns to the public prosecutor is to defend collective and diffuse interests, which includes the issue of public health,” she said.

In this sense, she continued, the slaughter and transport of animals for sale should be done after a prior inspection by health authorities.

The informal slaughter of livestock, transport and sale of meat in inappropriate places, such as trees, by families or small producers, are common practice in Mozambique, and are an important source of income for households involved in this type of business in one of the poorest countries in the world.

The activity is often the cause of scenes of violence, because some animals are slaughtered by gangs engaged in cattle rustling.

In June, seven men were buried alive, including three police officers, by people accused of belonging to cattle rustling gangs in Moamba district, Maputo province, southern Mozambique.

The corpses of some of the victims have been exhumed, but others have yet to be found.